Ch.5

Regina was just as shocked and confused as Emma and Henry were. All she could offer was a shake of her head. "I'm not sure exactly, but it means that Christian is of both mine and Emma's blood. How that is, I don't know."

Just then the baby started crying. Emma bounced him on her knee absentmindedly as she stared off into space, her mind lost in thought. When the bouncing failed to calm him Regina picked him up, he instantly stopped crying. Emma's attention snapped to Regina and the baby.

"What?" Regina asked at the odd look Emma was giving her.

"Well I think now we know why he calms down when you pick him up." Emma said smugly.

"Henry, how about you go to Granny's and get some breakfast for us? Get some money from my purse." Regina said.

"Sure Mom." Henry said, glad for an excuse to leave as he grab some cash and practically ran out the door shaking his head.

When they were alone Emma asked the question she was afraid to speak out loud.

"Regina…Do you think you and I had a child together in this other world?" Emma asked timidly.

Regina shook her head hard. "No. no, no. That is impossible. Emma think about it, we are two women who struggle to be friends. Even if in another world we somehow became…lovers…Our union would not be able to produce a child."

"What about by magic?" Emma asked.

"I have never heard of magic to be able to do that." Regina said as she looked closely at the baby's face for any sign of recognizable traits. He had bright green eyes and a plethora of straight black hair, chubby cheeks and perfect little nose. Regina kissed his cheek and held him close.

"So how else could he be related to both of us?" Emma asked.

"Well it is possible that we both had relatives who had a child together in their world. Maybe you have a cousin you don't know about and Zelena had a child with him?" Regina hypothesized. "My living blood relatives starts and ends with Zelena, so it would have to be her." She added.

"Yeah, maybe a cousin." Emma said. She walked over to stand next to Regina to get a better look at the baby's face. She looked over every detail of his face and studied his features.

"Well for a product of a mystery cousin and your sister he looks an awful lot like you and me." Emma deadpanned. She saw Regina roll her eyes. Emma reached out and tickled the baby's neck, making him giggle.

"See, he has your smile." Emma said as she elbowed Regina jokingly. But he did have her smile, it went to his eyes just like Regina. Her smile with Emma's green eyes.

"Emma lets go to my vault and try to contact Dark Emma before Henry comes back. I have a magic mirror that might be able to connect us to her, and I just have to know now." Regina said urgently.

"Yeah, I'm freaking out about this too. Let's go!" Emma agreed.

Regina propped Christian on her hip and waved her free arm to transport them magically to her vault. Once inside she went over to the magnificent mirror hanging on the far wall and waved her free hand over it causing it to swirl with magic. She could feel Emma's eyes on her as she continued to wave her hands in front of the swirling lines. Suddenly she stopped.

"I think I got it!" Regina exclaimed in excitement. Emma moved to her side and they both peered eagerly into the mirror.

All Emma could see was a non-reflective black surface of the mirror. Then suddenly they were staring into the deep black eyes of Dark Emma. She smiled at them smugly, around her were piles of books covering the table she sat behind.

"So, I'm assuming you figured it out." The Dark Emma said as she picked at one of her finger nails lazily.

"We aren't sure what we figured out. Whose child is he? He was able to open blood magic by both me and Emma. How?" Regina asked.

"In this world I am the Dark one." Dark Emma said.

"Yeah we know." Real Emma scoffed back.

"What I mean is, things here are different from your world. In this world I am the Dark one because no one was able to save me. I had asked Regina to do what no one else could do if it came down to it, but she too was unable. So, instead of killing me she decided to go dark. The Evil Queen came back in full swing. She did it so I wouldn't be alone. We fell in love and our union created a child. Regina gave birth to him. I had to take him and hide him right away. Everyone wanted him dead, or at least banished. It took me months to get this special fairy wand that allowed me to come to your world."

"Regina turned evil for you? Just so you wouldn't be alone?" Emma asked as she quickly looked to Regina, who was trying not to look back at her.

"Yes." Dark Emma replied coldly. "No one else in my life understood what I was going through. Hook tried to kill me. My own parents tried to kill me. They feared for Henry and baby Neal. At first she just stayed with me, refusing to let me be alone. Then slowly we bonded, and our feelings grew. Then, instead of asking me to change for her, she changed for me."

"Your parents tried to kill you?" Emma asked, her eyes wide in horror.

"Well, I can't say I didn't deserve it. I tried to use Neal for Zelena's time travel spell." Dark Emma admitted.

"So how did you and the Evil Queen have a baby together? I have never heard of magic being able to do that." Regina asked.

"True love." Dark Emma answered simply.

"True love? With Regina?" Emma gawked at Dark Emma in surprise.

"Well in my world we are True Love. Stronger than even my parent's true love due to our magical abilities. Regina actually became pregnant before she decided to go dark for me. It doesn't mean you two share true love." Dark Emma said with a proud smile.

"But I took The Darkness so Regina wouldn't lose her goodness. She had worked so hard to be good, why would you let her go dark just for you?" Emma yelled at her dark counterpart.

"Let her? You think I have any control over what Regina does and doesn't do?" Dark Emma laughed.

"She chose to do it. I couldn't stop her, no matter how hard I begged and pleaded. That's why I needed the time travel spell. I wanted to go back in time to stop myself from sleeping with her. That way she wouldn't want to turn evil for me."

"Then why wouldn't you get rid of The Darkness." Emma asked, getting annoyed now.

"I think you know why. The pull of the power is too strong." Dark Emma admitted.

Regina had stayed quiet during the two Emma's exchange. The two of them clearly had very different views on being the Dark One. Perhaps the world Dark Emma is from truly is different from theirs. A world where she and Emma would fall in love and create a child. It wouldn't work here, they were different here. In this world Emma chose to be good again, and Regina would never chose to go dark. Would she?

"So your Regina got pregnant and then turned evil; your family and friends got nervous and they and the town turned on you?" Regina asked as she held Christian closer to her in a protective way.

"Exactly, which is why I am working on a way to fix everything. To either bind his powers and ease their fears, or erase everyone's memories of him, then we could run away to the Enchanted Forest and live out our days together. I just needed some time to keep him safe while I figure out a plan." Dark Emma said.

Emma looked at Regina, she noticed the brunette was holding the baby closer to her then she had previously been. "Listen, Dark Emma, you need to come get your kid. You are talking about your family trying to kill you, and how you want to erase their memories. I remember what it was like being The Dark One, I remember the urges to kill. You just admitted that you were willing to use your baby brother to cast a dark spell. I don't think we should be a part of this anymore. I don't want to put our own people at risk."

Regina looked to Emma with a frown. "So we should just give the baby over to be killed by an angry mob of people?" Regina said, shielding Emma away from the baby.

"No, I am saying The Dark One can protect her own child, we don't need to risk our family and friends to help her. She wouldn't help us if the situation was reverse." Emma said as she turned to Dark Emma.

"Oh so now you have changed your mind. Since you found out the baby is yours and mine. What, afraid your family will think you're in love with me? Afraid you will be outed?" Regina said harshly.

"Outed? I'm not gay!" Emma said defensively.

"Oh please Miss Swan, I could tell for the second I met you. Clearly being The Dark One helped you put down your defenses a bit." Regina said as she indicated to Dark Emma in the mirror.

"So now that you know in another world you and I have a child together you are all too willing to toss him to the wolves. Better get him out of the way before your perfect parents find out their princess isn't as perfect as they are." Regina said. She tried to take a breath and calm down but she felt a fierce protection for this child since finding out he was, in a way, her son.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I am not afraid of my parents finding out we have a child in an alternate universe. But what if this threatens Henry's life? What then Regina?" Emma asked.

"It won't come to that. I will make sure of it." Regina promised.

Dark Emma looked to Regina pleadingly. Emma scoffed when she saw this. How dare she look at Regina as if she knew her. "Don't look at her like that! She isn't yours! You don't know this Regina, I do!" Emma said as her temper rose suddenly.

"Emma calm down, there is no reason to be this upset, she is just worried about her child." Regina said confused by Emma's sudden outburst.

"Yes Emma, do try to calm down." Dark Emma said with a smirk.

"Shut up! How the hell do we know that you are really looking for a solution? For all we know you just pawned your child off on us, and now you and the Evil Queen are causing mayhem in your town." Emma shouted at Dark Emma who stared back at her with all the loathing and contempt one could muster.

"You know what Emma, you are right. How do you know that I am not going to betray you and make you raise my child for me?" Dark Emma asked as she looked sternly at her counterpart. "How about I come back and stay there? I'm just looking at old books anyway, no reason I can't do it there."

"Oh and leave your evil girlfriend? Or is she coming too and then you two can take over our world?" Emma shot back. "Where is she anyway?"

"They took her. She has been missing for days." Dark Emma said as she looked away from them, her face softening.

"What? Who took her?" Regina asked.

"Henry and my parents. They are most likely trying to split her evil and good self. It was something they had tried with me, before Regina turned evil. But the serum didn't work on me as The Darkness isn't naturally a part of me. They must have made some more for Regina." Dark Emma said, now becoming angry. They watched as she clenched her fists.

"I'm sorry they took her, you are more than welcome to stay with me while you work on a way to save your family." Regina offered.

Emma looked at Regina and was shocked to see she was actually feeling bad for The Dark One. Her dark eyes looked as though they were filling with tears as she offered up her home and their world to this evil woman. Regina was never this kind and understanding while she had been The Dark One, so why was she being nice to this version of her?

"Regina, she could hurt our family! She could destroy the town!" Emma yelled.

"She could do all of that anyway. With that wand and the Dark One powers, she can come here whenever she wants. I however am extending an olive branch. You and your family have taught me that being kind and giving people chances is what you do when you're good." Regina said quietly to Emma.

Emma watched as Dark Emma waved her wand and created a portal from her world to theirs and stepped through it. The two blonds stood side by side, though they were complete opposites in clothing and personalities they were clones. However, Dark Emma stood taller in her high heeled black boots, while Emma wore chunkier boots with no heal. Dark Emma was dressed in all black leather that formed tight to her body, while Emma dawned her skinny blue jeans and her red leather jacket. Dark Emma's hair was whiter than blonde, and pulled back in a tight bun, where Emma let her long golden curls fall down her back.

"Fine, I guess she's staying here too, but I'm not happy about it!" Emma said as she stalked out of the vault.

Regina followed behind her smirking. "I wouldn't expect you to be happy about it dear."

Back at Regina's mansion Dark Emma began to set up her research area in Regina's office. Emma watched her from the door way, she wanted to shove the other blonde right back into a portal and get her away from her…family. The only thing she knew for certain was she wasn't going to be leaving Regina alone with Dark Emma.

Regina descended the stairs having just put the baby down for a nap and saw Emma watching her Dark counterpart like a hawk. "Emma, get away from the door, she's fine. Let her be!" Regina hissed. She motioned for Emma to follow her into the kitchen.

"I don't like her being here, living with you. It's not safe." Emma said with her arms crossed.

"Well were else is she going to go? To the B&B? I'm sure Granny would love that!" Regina laughed as she began to set the table for breakfast.

"She can go back to her own damn world!" Emma yelled.

"She needs help figuring out a way to save her child and also the other version of me. I can help her and together we can get it figured out much faster than waiting for her to figure it out on her own. I know how slow you work" Regina teased.

"Ha Ha. Very funny. But yeah, I guess you make a good point. But I'm still not happy." Emma pouted.

"You never are." Regina said with a smile.

"Then I'm staying here too." Emma said.

"No, I only have one spare room. You have your own house. Besides, don't you have a pirate who is waiting for you?" Regina asked sarcastically.

"I'm still pissed at Hook, but Regina, I can't let you stay here alone with her! She is The Dark One! She has powers we don't, this is why Rumple was such a problem."

Regina brightened at the news that Emma was still upset with the pirate, but took offense with Emma thinking she couldn't handle The Dark One.

"I have had some experience with The Dark One before, need I remind you. Rumple trained me. I also have experience with you as the Dark One. So I think I can handle myself. Besides, I don't need two Emma's around. One a brooding emo teenager and the other a dog marking her territory." Regina said sarcastically.

"Ha ha, I know you have experience with Dark Ones but need I remind you what almost happened when I was the Dark One?" Emma snapped back. She could see Regina's thinking and knew she too was remembering the night on Regina's doorstep.

"Don't 'Miss Swan' me, we have been through too much." Dark Emma shouted as she stepped closer and closer, her nose almost touching Regina's face.

Regina didn't back down though. She kept her feet firmly planted at the entrance of her house, not backing up to let the evil woman in.

"Fine, Em-ma. Then tell me what has been going on? Why would you take Violet's heart out and hurt Henry?" Regina asked.

"I had to, so we could win. We needed that tear. It was the only way."

"Oh don't give me that. There is always another way. You taught me that." Regina spat back. Their faces were so close together that their noses were touching slightly. Staring each other down. Neither one blinking.

Emma moved first. Closer. They kissed with their eyes open, a power struggle. Regina saw the white hair on Emma's head start to yellow from the roots. She then saw a tint of rose blush Emma's cheeks, so she deepened the kiss and closed her eyes. The Darkness was lifting. Emma felt it too. She tried to pull away but Regina held on. Finally had to shove Regina off her.

"Emma…" Regina whispered.

"No, I still need the power." Emma said angrily as she started to walk away toward the road.

"No you don't. You are stronger without it." Regina pleaded.

"No, I'm not." She said with a final turn and walked away.

"Fine, good bye Miss Swan. Good luck on your own." Regina said as she slammed the door behind her.

They both remembered. It had been the awkward tension that sat between them every day since it had happened. Their first kiss. A kiss that was able to take away the darkness.

"What you think I am helpless to the charms of Dark Emma?" Regina scoffed.

"I'm saying we kissed when I was the Dark One and now we learn that in another world you turned evil for Dark me. I'm just worried that she could influence you."

"Oh please. Trust me, I can handle myself. And I thought we had an agreement never to discuss that ever again?" Regina asked.

"We never had an agreement."

"It was an unspoken agreement!" Regina said.

"It seems like most of our important conversations are unspoken."

Regina didn't know how to respond. Tears threatened her eyes, but she pushed the feelings down, just as Mother taught her. Emma was right, but she didn't want to admit it.

When Henry returned with breakfast they welcomed the change of topic and briefed him on the situation with Dark Emma staying at the mansion and told him everything they had learned. Dark Emma was working hard so they gave her some food which she ate in the office.

After breakfast Henry decided to pack his stuff up and stay at Emma's house. He had hated it when Emma was The Dark One and was very uncomfortable knowing she was back. Emma hesitantly took Henry back to her place, leaving Regina alone with Dark Emma. When they left Emma looked back at the mansion and saw Dark Emma standing in a window downstairs. She winked at Emma before the blonde drove off fuming.

"So I ordered a new bed for the guest room, they are delivering later today. Emma and I slept on it the other night when the baby was having a hard time getting to sleep. It was awful, I think my back is still out from it." Regina said to Dark Emma as she stretched her back.

"Thanks, for everything. I mean it Regina." Dark Emma said.

Regina went over and looked through the books Dark Emma had gathered.

"Good, you found the magic books." Regina said.

"Well they were in the same place as they are at my house. Because I live here in my world, with you." Dark Emma said. She walked up behind Regina and got close to her. She began to touch Regina's shoulders and ran one hand down her back, stopping just before the top of her ass. She smiled when Regina sharply inhaled.

"Please stop." Regina requested politely.

"Why?"

"Because I tend to have a weakness for Dark Ones." Regina admitted.

"Sure you do." Dark Emma said with a wink.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Regina asked crossly.

"Nothing, just that you don't have a thing for 'Dark Ones'…you have a thing for Swans." Dark Emma teased. She finished her sentence with a seductive lick of her lips.

Regina's look could kill. Dark Emma put her hands in the air in surrender.

They worked the rest of the day and night in almost complete silence, only broken by questions about spells and potions. The bed arrived and Regina got it ready for Dark Emma to sleep, with clean sheets and new pillows. She took care of Christian, so Dark Emma could focus, the baby preferred her anyway. Dark Emma seemed to be used to this, and said he always preferred Regina in their world too.

Emma had called a few times checking in and insisting on returning to the Mayor's house.

"Regina, I'm coming over."

"Just stay with Henry, keep him safe. We are fine here." Regina told Emma on the phone. She should have known that wouldn't keep Emma from her house.